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Month: March 2014

Today, unexpectedly, I was called upon to take my sweet little nephew to his gymnastics class. In order to do that I had to pick up my sisters car since it had the car seats. I had extra time before meeting her so I made my semi-routinely round into Rite Aid. I usually walk through the aisles to see what they have going on and what kind of deals they are throwing out there.

Here’s what I found at the West Olympia Rite Aid today:

All the gardening tools were 50% off. Now, this isn’t as good a deal as the Dollar Tree, but the variety is much greater here and the quality is probably better.

Next, they had some winter clearance going on! For many, they buy when they need. People always ask how I get such a good deal on things…Well folks, this is how. I buy when things go on sale, and not when I am in need for them. We have some storage space, so it’s okay for us to buy and stock for things we know we will need in the future, during the next season. What you see here are some winter items at 75%. You can get hand warmers for less than .50 a piece!!! To me, that means, warmth at a fraction of the cost!

Last, but not least, I have mentioned this before and the deal still stands apparently! Rite Aid has shoes at 75% off!!!! You can get some as low as $3.24. I purchased a three pairs about four weeks ago, and can’t wait to wear them (I’ve only had the chance to wear one pair so far)!

Moral of the story.. Go check out Rite Aid. Get a good deal. Tell me about it!

One of the world’s easiest things…dehydrated apples! I have always purchased dried fruits for Kevin to munch on… They never seemed very expensive, and what bad things could be in dried fruits from the store? Well, here’s the thing. I still don’t know what “bad” things they put in the store dried fruit, but making my own only had one ingredient… APPLES. I was lucky enough to obtain a dehydrator for FREE so starting costs included only the five apples I bought at $1.28/lb.

The upside? Husband says they are great, but the downside is that I may have dehydrated them a little longer than need be making some of the thinner ones crisper than others. I have a fruit slicer, but was only going to do two apples to try it out. I ended up getting slice happy and did all five, so it would have been quicker to do with my slicer.

Next thing I am going to try, is mango and pineapple! Anyone want to try some?

People have the perception of Top Foods (aka Haggen) as being the most expensive place to shop in town. WRONG! I love this place. I find the best deals on the most random things ALL the time. I got all of these, plus a second box of cereal for $7. Now, I know this doesn’t exactly fit into my newly found idea of trying to make everything from home as much as possible, but some things are too good of a deal to pass up. In addition to that, Kevin LOVES cereal and all things breakfast.

I made these purchases this morning, but they had a ton of mark down cereal left. They were generic brand, but the equivalent to Reese’s Cereal, Special K Strawberries and regular.

One other score at Tops today was regular sized laundry baskets (blue) were on sale for $2.99. I was looking at them in Target yesterday, and the same one went for about $8.99.

On the more “make my own stuff” theme…. I am currently in the process of making my own dehydrated apples 🙂 Blog to follow…

Are you on the look-out for a great deal on appliances but don’t know where to start? This is what you should do… HEAD TO SEARS TONIGHT!! Between 6 p.m. & 9 p.m. tonight you can go to Sears and get an additional 15% off the already sale prices on your appliance of choice. This includes all clearance items (you know I LOVE clearance… I want it all!!!). In addition to the 15% off, if you use your Sears card you can get an extra 5% off.

Go check it out guys… and if you see something you like ask for Rose (my mom)! She will get you all taken care of!

Happy shopping friends,

E.

PS. It can get really busy at 6 p.m. when the sale starts, so the later you get there the better (but don’t be the person who comes in five minutes to close)!

One of many musts in a household. Stains, kids, pets, daily chores. We all need clean clothes. Why wash your clothes with store bought detergent when you can make it for a fraction of the cost?

The first time I made my own laundry soap, I was such a skeptic. On top of that, my husband was even worse. He has no doubts it would be any good, let alone stand up to his (and my) standards of cleanliness. Boy!, we were wrong. Now, why make your own soap? Well, for starters, the first time I made it, including the cost of all ingredients and a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, it cost about $15. This was to make 160 loads (for a top loader). In the year-ish we have been using our homemade soap, I have only had to purchase the bar of soap at .99/bar.

I prefer liquid soap. I purchased all my ingredients from WinCo, but have heard you may save a buck or so if you bought it at Wal-Mart.

What you’ll need:

1- Five gallon bucket with lid

1-Box of Borax

1-Box of Arm and Hammer Super Wash

1-Bar of Fels Naptha soap (5.5 oz)

1-grater (This one I purchased at Dollar Tree..no explanation needed I am sure)

7. Fill bucket up with hot water. ( I leave about 2-3 inches for stirring).

8. Stir. You will need a spoon or something that is taller than the bucket to stir.

9. Let sit 24 hours. In this time, the soap may have congealed slightly. This is okay. Stir until you get a liquid substance,

I found it was easiest to pour the solution once warm into smaller containers so that 24 hours later, when it has congealed, it is easier to shake into liquid form. Plus, it has now become easier to pour. Use 1/2 cup for top loaders. I have a top loader, non-HE washer, but have read, this soap is friendly for HE washers, top and front loaders. For front loaders, I believe you only use 1/4 cup soap per load. This will double your amount of loads, costing you even LESS than if you have a top loader.

I have had to make two more batches of soap since we started making our own and it has cost $1.08 each time, which is the cost of the new bar of soap, since I have not had to re-purchase the Arm & Hammer or Borax yet.

You’ve been asking for a while about me getting a blog, probably so I can quit blowing your Facebook feed up with all my deals… So, here it is! As I am new to blogging, please cut me some slack if I don’t blog as a normal blogger would. My main goals are to tell you about good deals to be found, ways to save money, and how to transform your “I must buy everything” attitude, to how you can make these things yourselves!! I will post a few things I have been doing for a while (such as homemade laundry soap and homemade bathtub cleaner) and keep it going from there. If you have good deals you want me to share, just let me know. I try to keep a rounded daily deal going but school will be starting back up in a week and my time will be limited.

Tell all your friends to follow me, because you know you want everyone to get the same awesome deals you get, after I get them of course!